English

The study of English Literature at A-Level naturally leads on from GCSE English. The course is 2 years and is split into two sections, AS and A2. In Year 12 you will study the literature of World War One. You will produce two pieces of coursework based on the novels and plays that you read, and there is one exam at the end in which you include the wider reading you have done throughout the year and the work you will do on an anthology of war poetry. In Year 13 the theme is 'Love Through the Ages' and you will study a wide variety of prose, poetry and drama from across the centuries. For A2, you will produce one longer piece of written coursework and have a final exam. You will need to achieve a B at GCSE to gain a place on the course.

Doing English Literature will encourage the development of your interest and enjoyment or reading widely and learning to critically analyse as you read. As you progress through the course you will hopefully become a confident reader of a range of texts and your skills of response and analyse will be improved, especially with expressing your responses in a successful way. You will learn to use critical concepts and a wide range of new terminology and you will also be encouraged to work independently and decide on your own interpretations of the texts that you read.

Media

We live in a media-saturated world; from video clips on your mobile, to television adverts and the music on your mp3 player, you are surrounded by media messages all the time. How do you make sense of them all? How do you know what they are trying to communicate — both on an obvious and a less obvious level? How do you know how much you have been influenced by these media messages? Does the media reflect your reality, or control the way you view it?

Media Studies helps you develop an important set of skills that will help you navigate the rest of your education and then, your working life.

At both AS and A-Level the year is split into two units: the coursework unit, based on research and media production, and the examination unit on critical perspectives.

Research and Production – Coursework

Each year, the exam board sets a production brief for the production element of the course. In past years students have created film trailers, music artists’ websites and documentaries for this part of their assessment. The production is comprised of four parts:

• Pre-production research. You’ll analyse texts which are related to (and will therefore inform) your own production.
• Pre-production planning. If you’re creating a moving image production for this section you’ll need to create storyboards and a filming schedule.
• Production. You’ll need to: Use codes and conventions creatively for your own purposes; engage audiences/users; control the narrative or (audio)visual organisation of the production for the audiences/user; generate high production values whatever the technology used.
• Evaluation. You’ll reflect on your piece and analyse your own performance covering the four key concepts (representation, media language, audience and institutions). We’ll also explore the issues surrounding the distribution of your production.

Critical Perspectives - Examination

Through media studies, students develop the skills of analysis and also acquire a good knowledge of media theories and debates, covering the key concepts of Audience, Media language, Representation, and Institution.

Students prepare an individual case study based on representation in the media.

You’ll take the principles learnt in class and apply them to the media that you find around you. Most students have in-depth knowledge of particular forms of media (your favourite genre of music, or movies, or video games) and, through your independent case study, you can apply what you have learned in college to the media that play the biggest part in your life.

Beyond college

The media is a growing, increasingly wide-ranging field. Journalism, public relations, advertising, communication studies, information management, broadcasting, TV and film are some of the many subjects that it includes. Communication in all its forms is becoming more sophisticated, and demanding a more educated workforce. Media studies can lead to a wide range of job including:

• working in business
• creative industries
• journalism
• marketing
• filmmaking
• banking
• law
• publishing
• broadcasting
• TV, video, multimedia
• media research
• political research or speech-writing

Drama

The OCR Performing Arts course we offer to Post 16 students allows the opportunity for students to explore the industry, plan for the future and perform to a number of audiences.

This course welcomes all forms of performing arts including acting, music, singing, dancing and musical theatre.

AS

• Unit 1 Investigating Performing Arts Organisations
• Unit 2 Skills development
• Unit 3 Professional Practice

A2

• Unit 5 Getting Work
• Unit 6 Exploring Repetoire
• Unit 7 Producing your showcase

Please download this document for more course information.